Saying, "I almost got killed" is a rather dramatic statement, and I acknowledge that fact. However, after being able to get past the adrenaline rush and panic, and really understanding what happened on my morning commute today, I think it's an appropriate sentiment.

As I was driving through the Toms River tolls on the Garden State Parkway southbound this morning, the vehicle in front of me kicked up a foreign object on the roadway.

It was one of those moments where you have a lot of thoughts at once:

"What is that? Is it dangerous?"

"How can I avoid this?"

"Can I avoid this, even?"

"What if I can't?"

Of course, all those thoughts go through your mind in a split second, and the next thing I knew a large, long metal object made a sickening impact with my windshield right at face level and I was showered in glass.

Ridiculously, almost this exact thing has happened to me before. And, no joke, in pretty much exactly the same place.

The big, and even scarier difference this time was the fact that the impact was on the driver's side. In fact not just that, but it was on the driver's side right at head level.

In other words, if my vehicle's safety glass hadn't held up I may not be typing this story right now.

The object actually did break through the windshield to the point that there was an actual hole and rain was coming in.

A few years ago, under different safety standards from today's cars, this incident could have ended very differently.

Thankfully, I'm here to recount the story and I wasn't injured.

I also need to publicly thank "Nancy", the driver of the vehicle that kicked up the debris. Even being on her way to the airport, she stopped to make sure I was ok and to wait while I contacted my insurance company to make sure that we didn't have to exchange information.

Thank you for stopping, Nancy. Not a lot of people would have. I hope you enjoy the taping of "Ellen" that you're flying out for. I really appreciated your patience and calm.

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